BUS 410 EVALUATION TEST QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS SET A+
✔✔Gender discrimination abroad - ✔✔Gender discrimination law is newer in many
countries, but courts and legislatures have increasingly recognized workplace
discrimination against women.
✔✔Hill v. Irish Revenue Commissioners - ✔✔Background: Two women who had job-
shared returned to full-time work and were placed on a lower pay scale. Decision: The
ECJ held that the system could violate EU law because 99.2% of affected job-sharers
were women. Rule/Application: A facially neutral rule can be indirect sex discrimination
if it disadvantages a mostly female employment category unless justified by an
objective, non-sex-based reason.
✔✔Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd. case - ✔✔Background: Female employees in
Japan challenged a system that hired women into clerical tracks while men with similar
education were placed on management tracks, creating wage and promotion gaps.
Decision: The Osaka District Court dismissed the gender discrimination claims.
Rule/Application: The court treated older hiring practices in light of the social views at
the time, while recognizing that gender-based employment practices had become less
acceptable as Japanese law and social norms changed.
✔✔Foreign laws permitting difficult work conditions - ✔✔Companies may move
production abroad to save labor costs, but those savings can come from work
conditions legal abroad yet unacceptable or illegal in developed countries.
✔✔Unsafe labor conditions - ✔✔Some countries lack OSHA-like workplace protections,
leading to locked exits, unsafe equipment, poor ventilation, long hours, and serious
workplace injuries.
✔✔Prison labor - ✔✔Prison labor exists in several countries and is difficult to detect
when products move through complex supply chains.
, ✔✔Child labor - ✔✔Child labor is common in low-value-added industries because
children can be paid very low wages and often lack safety or education protections.
✔✔Consequences of harsh labor conditions abroad - ✔✔Companies may face lawsuits,
import restrictions, consumer boycotts, reputational harm, and pressure to police their
supply chains.
✔✔Alien Tort Statute limit from study guide - ✔✔The study guide says non-U.S. citizens
generally can no longer bring these foreign labor abuse claims in U.S. courts through
tort law in this context.
✔✔Corporate codes of conduct - ✔✔Multinational companies use sourcing guidelines to
reduce the risk of child labor, prison labor, forced labor, and unsafe conditions in their
supply chains.
✔✔Why environmental laws differ across countries - ✔✔Environmental law varies
because countries differ in wealth, technology, development priorities, enforcement
ability, and views about economic growth.
✔✔North-South divide in environmental law - ✔✔Wealthier countries often favor stricter
environmental rules, while poorer countries may resist rules that could limit economic
development.
✔✔Environmental law as an anticompetitive tool - ✔✔A country may use environmental
rules as a pretext to protect domestic industries from foreign competition.
✔✔Polluter pays principle - ✔✔The basic idea that the party causing environmental
harm should be responsible for the pollution or damage.
✔✔Traditional international environmental remedies - ✔✔Countries usually rely on
dispute resolution, arbitration, ICJ litigation, import restrictions, or domestic lawsuits.
✔✔Limits of ICJ environmental litigation - ✔✔ICJ cases usually require state parties, a
treaty or international agreement, and consent to jurisdiction, so they are limited and
uncommon.
✔✔Pulp Mills on River Uruguay - ✔✔Background: Argentina sued Uruguay over
construction of pulp mills on the River Uruguay under a treaty regulating the river.
Decision: The ICJ found Uruguay violated procedural duties by starting construction
before completing negotiations but rejected Argentina's substantive environmental
claims. Rule/Application: A country can violate procedural cooperation duties without
being liable for environmental damages if the complaining country cannot prove
substantive harm.
ANSWERS SET A+
✔✔Gender discrimination abroad - ✔✔Gender discrimination law is newer in many
countries, but courts and legislatures have increasingly recognized workplace
discrimination against women.
✔✔Hill v. Irish Revenue Commissioners - ✔✔Background: Two women who had job-
shared returned to full-time work and were placed on a lower pay scale. Decision: The
ECJ held that the system could violate EU law because 99.2% of affected job-sharers
were women. Rule/Application: A facially neutral rule can be indirect sex discrimination
if it disadvantages a mostly female employment category unless justified by an
objective, non-sex-based reason.
✔✔Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd. case - ✔✔Background: Female employees in
Japan challenged a system that hired women into clerical tracks while men with similar
education were placed on management tracks, creating wage and promotion gaps.
Decision: The Osaka District Court dismissed the gender discrimination claims.
Rule/Application: The court treated older hiring practices in light of the social views at
the time, while recognizing that gender-based employment practices had become less
acceptable as Japanese law and social norms changed.
✔✔Foreign laws permitting difficult work conditions - ✔✔Companies may move
production abroad to save labor costs, but those savings can come from work
conditions legal abroad yet unacceptable or illegal in developed countries.
✔✔Unsafe labor conditions - ✔✔Some countries lack OSHA-like workplace protections,
leading to locked exits, unsafe equipment, poor ventilation, long hours, and serious
workplace injuries.
✔✔Prison labor - ✔✔Prison labor exists in several countries and is difficult to detect
when products move through complex supply chains.
, ✔✔Child labor - ✔✔Child labor is common in low-value-added industries because
children can be paid very low wages and often lack safety or education protections.
✔✔Consequences of harsh labor conditions abroad - ✔✔Companies may face lawsuits,
import restrictions, consumer boycotts, reputational harm, and pressure to police their
supply chains.
✔✔Alien Tort Statute limit from study guide - ✔✔The study guide says non-U.S. citizens
generally can no longer bring these foreign labor abuse claims in U.S. courts through
tort law in this context.
✔✔Corporate codes of conduct - ✔✔Multinational companies use sourcing guidelines to
reduce the risk of child labor, prison labor, forced labor, and unsafe conditions in their
supply chains.
✔✔Why environmental laws differ across countries - ✔✔Environmental law varies
because countries differ in wealth, technology, development priorities, enforcement
ability, and views about economic growth.
✔✔North-South divide in environmental law - ✔✔Wealthier countries often favor stricter
environmental rules, while poorer countries may resist rules that could limit economic
development.
✔✔Environmental law as an anticompetitive tool - ✔✔A country may use environmental
rules as a pretext to protect domestic industries from foreign competition.
✔✔Polluter pays principle - ✔✔The basic idea that the party causing environmental
harm should be responsible for the pollution or damage.
✔✔Traditional international environmental remedies - ✔✔Countries usually rely on
dispute resolution, arbitration, ICJ litigation, import restrictions, or domestic lawsuits.
✔✔Limits of ICJ environmental litigation - ✔✔ICJ cases usually require state parties, a
treaty or international agreement, and consent to jurisdiction, so they are limited and
uncommon.
✔✔Pulp Mills on River Uruguay - ✔✔Background: Argentina sued Uruguay over
construction of pulp mills on the River Uruguay under a treaty regulating the river.
Decision: The ICJ found Uruguay violated procedural duties by starting construction
before completing negotiations but rejected Argentina's substantive environmental
claims. Rule/Application: A country can violate procedural cooperation duties without
being liable for environmental damages if the complaining country cannot prove
substantive harm.
